


you ain't nothin' but a hound dog

by knightswatch



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Drabbles, I Will Follow You Into The Dark-verse, M/M, Magic, Random AUs, Zombie AU, prompted
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 06:29:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5195648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightswatch/pseuds/knightswatch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyouhaba prompts/drabbles from tumblr!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Quiet Me- IWFYITD-verse

Sometimes, Yahaba wished he had the privilege of blissful ignorance– especially when it came to Kyoutani. He knew more about the supposed Mad Dog than Kyoutani did himself. Formulas, numbers, medical reports; there was a stack of them in files hidden in a crate in a half-crumbled bathroom, meant only for Yahaba. They were covered by his own handwriting at this point, scrawled with notes about drug combinations that worked, records of each time he lost control, records of what vital signs Yahaba was actually able to take without any reliable supplies.

There was no positive prognosis to be found. It wasn’t clear from the files exactly what had been done to Kyoutani, but the slow degrading of his memory, the increasing rage states that Yahaba had to work to calm Kyoutani down from– he was, inch by inch, always getting worse. Perhaps, if he could make himself only think about Kyoutani Kentarou as a patient, Yahaba could look at all the facts he had and say that he probably had years left on his life, plenty of time to enjoy himself and spend with his loved ones.

But Kyoutani was his loved one, and Yahaba had a hard time looking at the time ticking away from him with a smile on his face. He didn’t usually send Kyoutani out by himself, but there had been some simple plumbing work that needed to be done in one of the apartment buildings they protected and Yahaba needed a moment to himself. Time not spent taking care of others was a luxury in his life, and mostly Yahaba spent it like he was now, sitting on the pallet bed that he usually shared with Kyoutani, knees curled to his chest and forehead pressed into his knees until it hurt.

It felt foolish, pathetic, to sit alone in their room and cry over the fact that Kyoutani had almost no chance of living for another decade when a kaiju could crush them all tomorrow, but Yahaba couldn’t stop himself from doing it anyway. It was the bitter unfairness of it that he couldn’t stomach– Kyoutani had looked at the first call for soldiers to step up for experiments to fight the kaiju and signed himself before even discussing it with Yahaba. It was the choice that had destroyed him, made without a second thought.

“You do anything for the people you love,” was his only answer, accompanied by a shrug. Yahaba had spent all his time from that point trying to be worthy of how simply and straightforwardly Kyoutani loved.

“Shigeru?” The soft, gruff voice caught him off guard and he picked his head up from his legs quickly, looking away from Kyoutani standing in the doorway and staring at him with a frown. He tried to scrub the tears from his eyes away with the rough sleeve of his sweater, drawing in a shuddering breath.

“You’re back early,” his voice trembled on the way out and there was a loud thump of Kyoutani dropping the tools he’d amassed over the years, slowly making his way to hover awkwardly at Yahaba’s side. He huffed a watery laugh, reaching out and grabbing one rough hand gently, tugging Kyoutani to sit next to him. “Everything went okay?”

“What’s wrong?” Kyoutani’s eyebrows were knit tightly together, deepening the permanent furrow between him. His hand hovered in the air between them, uncertain for a moment before reaching the rest of the way to cup around Yahaba’s cheek, thumb brushing another tear away. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m fine,” Yahaba shook his head quickly, aware when Kyoutani scowled slightly that his face had slipped back into the polite mask that he used when talking to marks on the street. He drew in another slow breath, pleased when at least it didn’t rattle in his lungs this time. “Really Ken, I’m fine.”


	2. Spell

“Release me now, Mortal,” the creature that was at once point some kind of wolf or dog spirit is snarling up at Yahaba, naked and confined by the hastily drawn circle of runes underneath him. His teeth are sharp, gritted together in a harsh line, and he looks like he’d love to leap and rip out Yahaba’s throat.

“Sorry Kyoken, I can’t do that,” his voice comes out more patronizing than might be wise, especially when he’s using the spirit’s true name like a new toy. Mad dog. It’s oddly fitting for him.

“At least let me out of this squishy little body!” He’s stopped yelling and is now mostly just growling ineffectively at the invisible walls holding him in. Yahaba shakes his head because he saw the spirit’s true form when he summoned it, and he does not want a dog that large tearing through his shoebox apartment. 

“How about you and I be friends, Kyoken?” He purrs out the suggestion and the spirit looks at him like he’s being asked to drink bleach.

“Kyoutani,” he grunts, eyeing the runes holding him captive before sighing so hard his whole body seems to deflate. Yahaba can’t help but notice how small he seems as a human, even if his build overall is sturdy and heavy with muscle, he’s shorter than Yahaba even, with his ridiculous looking haircut.

“I’m Yahaba,” he’s careful not to give a full name. Not until he at least knows what kind of spirit he’s dealing with. Kyoutani seems to notice it as well because he frowns just a little harder. “So what is it you are? Inugami?”

“Of course not,” he snaps, crossing his arms and shifting his position in the circle once more, looking like he doesn’t know how to sit still. “I’m a Shisa.”

“A guardian?” Yahaba blinks rapidly, feeling the color drain from his face and turning back to the spellbook he borrowed from Oikawa. There’s nothing about his attempt to summon a few wisps to help clean out his apartment that could have possibly led to a major guardian spirit sitting in front of him, but there Kyoutani is anyway.

Who, to his credit, now simply looks bored and annoyed with Yahaba, crossing his arms over his naked chest. “Could I at least have some clothes?”

Dumbly, Yahaba nods, wondering exactly what he can do with such a powerful creature somehow bound to him as he wanders to his closet to find something that might fit him.


	3. Kill Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major Character Death

It’s not a nice sight that greets Yahaba when Iwaizumi and Kyoutani stumble back in from their supply run hours after sundown. Iwaizumi looks pale and drawn, with his eyes standing out dark against the stark color of his cheeks, and there’s a gash running down the side of his arm that Yahaba can tell from a glance is going to need stitches, still oozing blood down his wrist.

The other arm is slung around Kyoutani’s side, basically dragging him along as Kyoutani shuffles his feet in an attempt to keep walking, head down, hair matted with blood that Yahaba is praying belongs to someone, anyone else. It’s a grim thought, and one he doesn’t really regret having at this point. Kyoutani doesn’t look up at him when the door bangs shut behind them, fingers gripping so tightly around his wrist that he’s left bruises in the skin.

“K- Kyoutani?” He almost chokes on the name, and when Kyoutani finally picks his head up he looks far worse than Iwaizumi. There’s a glaze over his deep-set eyes, and his mouth is turned slightly downwards in a wan imitation of his usual scowl. Iwaizumi shuffles him until Kyoutani’s legs hit against a chair and Kyoutani drops into it without a thought, breath coming out in rattling pants.

He doesn’t smile, unwrapping his hand slowly from his wrist and revealing the bite on his forearm, the skin around the edges already turning black rather than bleeding. His features flinch like he’s not sure how to look, what kind of face to make when Yahaba’s mouth drops open in horror. Iwaizumi clears his throat awkwardly, eyes darting between them.

“We– found a group of survivors a few blocks over, and Kyoutani was trying to pull a girl through the window and–”

The sob that’s been stuck in Yahaba’s throat since Kyoutani looked at him without any fire left in his eyes finally falls out of his mouth, choking him with its force. Kyoutani’s mouth gathers into a scowl, shaking his head and pushing the fingers of his unwounded hand through his hair, dragging more blood through it without a second thought. “Sorry.”

“We can… we could…” Yahaba can’t even make the suggestion of removing the limb come out of his mouth, but Kyoutani’s face settles into a glare anyway, shaking his head sharply.

“We have no way of knowing if that works,” he snaps like he can’t believe how stupid Yahaba is being in his effort to save Kyoutani’s life, and he sighs softly. “Besides, that way I’ll slow everyone else down.”

His eyes dart up to Iwaizumi who’s staring at him in return like he didn’t expect this declaration either. Kyoutani rolls his shoulders, picks himself up with a stumble and manages to walk his way over to standing in front of Yahaba, stroking a bloodied finger over his cheek, giving one of his rare smiles even as his hand clenches at his side and his legs shake under his weight. “I’m not asking you to do it– I just…”

He barks a laugh, still keeping a hand cupped around Yahaba’s face, shaking his head as his eyes dart off to a corner of the room. “I had to say good-bye to you first.”

Yahaba can’t even make himself lean forward and kiss Kyoutani, can barely see one of his rare smiles lighting across his face. He slides the gun off of Kyoutani’s belt and lifts it in shaking fingers, pressing it to the center of his chest and squeezing his eyes tightly shut. Iwaizumi hasn’t said anything, and Yahaba isn’t sure if he’s here anymore or if he’s left to go speak to Oikawa, and he’s not sure it matters either way.

In the end, it’s Kyoutani’s hand wrapping warm and soft around his that pulls the trigger.


	4. Dream

Sometimes Kyoutani dreams about Yahaba, and it isn’t weird at all. He’s known for years that he likes guys, and even if Yahaba isn’t at all his type and he doesn’t have any feelings for him, it makes sense that he’s the person Kyoutani sees in his dreams.

At least, that’s what he tells himself when he wakes up hard and sweating with Yahaba’s name still lodged in the back of his throat. He groans, dropping his head back against the pillow and squeezing his eyes shut even though the darkness of the room makes it impossible to see things anyway. He huffs air out through his teeth, digging the blunt edges of his fingernails into the sheets, feeling the tape that he forgot to take off tighten around his fingers.

He lifts his hand, digging his teeth against the edge of one strip and tugging until it gives and unsticks, spitting it off to the side in the darkness where it will probably only get stuck to his foot in the morning. He repeats it for each taped finger, carefully keeping his mind focused on only the task in front of him.

It doesn’t work, and rather than laying in bed and thinking about having sex with Yahaba, he’s wondering what the name Shigeru would taste like in his mouth, and with no one but his dog slumbering quietly at the foot of his bed, he mumbles the name quietly into the air.

He lays with his eyes closed for a long time, more than long enough to forget about his dream, but he still can’t get himself to sleep. Frustrated, and possibly stupid, he rolls on his side and snatches his phone from the nightstand, pushing the call button next to Yahaba’s name before he thinks too hard about it.

“What’d you want?” Yahaba picks up after two rings, sounding like he probably hasn’t been to sleep yet, and Kyoutani frowns, shifting to the side when the sound of his voice apparently wakes Saturn up and she crawls to curl up next to his hand.

“Can’t sleep,” he grumbles, not sure exactly how to explain this phone call. He wrinkles his nose, rubs two fingers over Saturn’s ear, shuts his eyes again slowly. “I just wanted to talk to someone. Why are you awake?”

“You mean other than the fact that you just called me?” Yahaba barely puts any effort into the snap and Kyoutani chuckles low. “I’ve been catching up on some studying.”

“You shouldn’t stay up so late, captain,” he shoots in return, yawning slowly. It’s soothing, even if he’s not doing much more than listening to Yahaba hum in response and go back to writing something down. “What’re you working on?”

Sleep is starting to set in and he just wants Yahaba to keep talking to him. Yahaba complies, not sounding disturbed in the least. “I’m working on calculus. Is this going to become a thing with you?”

“Is what?” He flutters his eyes back open and Yahaba laughs softly.

“Calling me at night. Oikawa-san used to do it too,” he sounds amused and Kyoutani smiles a little despite himself. “He said he had to call me because Iwaizumi-san would walk across the street and headbutt him to sleep.”

“I dunno,” sleep is actually starting to set in and Kyoutani yawns once more, draping his arm over his eyes. “I think I have a crush on you.”

He’s not really even aware he says it, but he doesn’t miss the way Yahaba’s breath comes in sharp as a stab but lets out slow with a soft laugh attached to it. “Are you falling asleep, Kyoutani-kun?”

“Kentarou,” he answers, voice feeling slow and heavy as it rolls off his tongue. There’s another pause, a slightly longer one– Kyoutani wonders if Yahaba is smiling. Finally, there’s a note of soft, warm laughter crackling through his phone.

“Okay, Kentarou-kun. Go to sleep.”

Kyoutani smiles nods his head and hums softly when he remembers that Yahaba won’t be able to see it. “Good night Shigeru.”

He’s asleep before he even ends the call.


	5. sideways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Just go away. I don't want you here."

When Yahaba shows up at Kyoutani’s door, small birthday cake in a box balanced on one hand, smiling with the scarf he stole from Kyoutani the week before when it had suddenly started snowing, he doesn’t expect his knock to produce Kyoutani at the door with wide eyes and teeth bared. He looks something like a trapped animal, fingers trembling before he grips around the frame of the door, and it looks like it takes him a moment to even process Yahaba standing there.

“Shi– Yahaba-kun?” He cuts himself off from using Yahaba’s given name, something that’s already strange enough in itself to make his heart beat faster in his chest. Worse is the way Kyoutani curls in on himself slightly, failing to actually look Yahaba in the eyes. His gaze rests for a moment on the dark colored scarf wrapped around Yahaba’s neck, then to the white box in his hand. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s your birthday,” Yahaba rolls his eyes, thinking that should be obvious. He’s still waiting for some kind of invitation to come inside and share the cake he so _thoughtfully_ purchased for his _boyfriend_. It doesn’t come.

“Y- you…?” He stumbles, then shakes his head quickly, pulling the door so it’s flush with his back, blocking most of the interior from Yahaba’s view. Kyoutani shifts his weight between his feet, staring at the box like he’s not sure of it still. Yahaba restrains his urge or sigh, or to pull Kyoutani out of the doorway and drag him off, shaking his head.

“He’s here, then?” His voice is flatter than he intends, more venomous, and he regrets it when Kyoutani’s eyes drop from the box to the ground instead. His whole posture of that of a boy placed under far too much weight, being dragged down by it, and if he would actually look up, Yahaba’s sure his eyes would have heavy bags under them from not sleeping once again. “Ken–”

His voice is soft, and without thinking about it, the consequences of it, he reaches a hand out and brushes his fingers over Kyoutani’s. He doesn’t flinch from the touch, instead, his head snaps up with surprise written between the tired lines of his face. His lip is chewed raw at the corner, and there’s a bandage stuck to one of his temples and a bruise starting to swell on his cheek. Kyoutani shakes his head, and must read the anger that rips across Yahaba’s face because he looks away again like he’s trying to hide.

“Just– go away. I don’t want you here,” he keeps his voice hushed, and his fingers grip tighter at the frame of the door until the wood groans under the pressure. Yahaba takes a step forward, away from the cold howl of the wind, and links his fingers with Kyoutani’s.

He wants, so badly, to argue. He doesn’t. He passes the tiny, dog-shaped cake into Kyoutani’s hand and leans forward to give him a tiny peck on the lips. Kyoutani’s eyes flutter for just a second, squeezing Yahaba’s hand and leaning toward him like there’s some kind of magnetic force drawing him. But he yanks himself back just as quickly, shoulders trembling, making the frame of his body shudder. “I’ll see you later.”

Kyoutani hesitates for one more moment, lifting his face all the way and letting a smile tug at one corner of his injured mouth, and he’s all over the boy that Yahaba has fallen in love with– hesitant smiles and more heart than should even be imaginable for someone hurt so much, reaching out and touching the edge of his own scarf wrapped around Yahaba’s neck like it’s something unbelievable. “And, thanks.”

He ducks his head, red at the tips of his ears before the door shuts and closes off Yahaba’s view. There’s yelling. Yahaba squeezes his eyes shut and buries his nose in the soft knit fabric, inhaling the warm, cinnamon smell that belongs to Kyoutani.

He walks home.


End file.
